


hey, change your ways

by q_is



Series: the gang™ [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Domestic Violence, Found Family, Gen, Homelessness, Huang Ren Jun & Zhong Chen Le Are Siblings, Lee Taeyong & Park Jisung Are Siblings, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, OT7 NCT Dream, Trans Character, Transphobia, implied feelings ig, mark lee adopts six kids starts a gang and gets a crush on taeyong thats IT, mentioned smoking and drinking but not by any of the boys, neighborhood gangs but its mostly kids thinking they own everything, nothing is too explicit but pls keep in mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22663348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/q_is/pseuds/q_is
Summary: as most things tend to do, it all starts with mark.
Series: the gang™ [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1630432
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	hey, change your ways

**Author's Note:**

> hi! so i wrote this a long time ago in portuguese and never got around to actually going anywhere with this series lmao but. i really love it and the characters so im trying again!  
> the original work is making two whole year on march 6!!!! oof!!!  
> anyway, this is based on mostly the go mv. it was supposed to be a oneshot about nohyucks kiss and then it evolved.  
> uh, english isnt my first language. have fun??  
> also, this is for layna <3 for proofreading this mess and listening to me ramble about stuff <3 ily <3

as most things tend to do, it starts with mark.

leaving canada and their five bedroom house to a small almost two bedroom one in a cul-de-sac in korea, there he was, seven years old. he was too young to understand why they had to leave his dad behind, and why his mom couldn't spend as much time with him anymore. 

it was hard waking up in the middle of the night in a strange neighborhood to his mom gone, going back under the covers to try and fall asleep but never being able to, the sounds he wasn't used to giving him nightmares while he was awake. he remembers leaving all their lights on, even if his mom complained about the bills, because it wasn't easy for a child to get his mom needed to work and couldn't just cuddle his fears away anymore. 

mark was a shy kid, but did well on school nonetheless. for a few months, he actually thought he was the only kid in the neighborhood, he didn't have anyone to play with when he came back home, he went to and left school on his own. mark wasn't that good at making friends, never was, but specially now, on a new country he barely spoke a sentence of the language. 

his happiest moments were when his mom had a day off from the hospital, and could stay at home to teach him everything he needed to know to take care of himself. it took some time until mark understood she didn't stay away because she wanted to, that she was doing everything in her power so mark could have everything she could give him.

so he learned to not complain, to do as he was told, to try and make his mom's life easier. at least, in front of her. what she didn't know, wouldn't hurt her. 

and then there was jeno.

mark had been wrong thinking he was the only one, he realised as he watched the kid with bloody knees skating around their street. he was young, around marks age, if not a little younger. the first thing mark wanted to do was say hi, so that's what he did.

it kinda grossed him out, the smell of cigarettes and alcohol in the boy's clothes. jeno had smiled at him, and distracted himself enough to fall from his skate, leaving his elbows matching with his knees.

jeno had lived there even longer than mark had, and was a year younger than him. he was very open, very trusting, as most six years old tend to be, so within the first few minutes mark found out the smells came from jeno's dad, that they were neighbors, and even that jeno's mom was the one paying the rent, from london, where she had flown off to as soon as jeno was born, not wanting him or his dad in her life to ruin her dreams. 

mark remembers not knowing how to answer, but also he didn't need to, because as soon as jeno told him something, he told him something else, never staying in one subject for long enough. at one point jeno offered to teach him how to skate, and they went down to the park where they both managed to fall and laugh more than they ever had before. 

it was that easy to make friends when you were both starved for attention and a little love. it didn't need a lot for them to decide to be best friends, specially after finding out they went to the same school. they promised each other to meet there, and to go and come back together. jeno even offered to hang out at his place if his dad allowed, but mark thought it would be better to keep it to his own house, since it was mostly always just him. they could have movie nights! it would be so much fun!

mark had been doomed from the start, because jeno was his best friend now. mark would protect him with all his might.

jaemin came next.

to be perfectly honest, at the time, mark wasn't sure where he had came from either. at one point he and jeno were coming back from school, talking and laughing, then mark was on the floor, a body over his own.

jaemin had been running from something, or someone, but stopped as soon as he noticed mark had hurt his elbows. he apologized a lot, which mark flushed over, because it was fine. it was just a cut. he was a big boy now, thirteen years old. he could handle it. still, jaemin insisted in helping and they went back to mark's house, so the boy could clean and bandage it like he knew what he was doing. 

jaemin smiled and changed the subject each and every single time mark and jeno ever got too close to a subject he didn't want to talk about. which was fair, but in the mind of preadolescent kid, it became a whole conspiracy theory.

they ended up spending the day together, watching movies in mark's too small tv, and when it got dark, jeno and jaemin left together. 

jeno had told him, the next day, that jaemin walked him to his house and waved at him until he got inside. he said he ran to check on him through the window, but when he got to it, jaemin was already gone. for a week, as if he never existed.

on the first few days, they were scared jaemin had only been an apparition. but then, nonchalantly, on a friday, jaemin came back and never left again.

he didn't go to school, and he was always the last one to go home, when he didn't actually stay to spend the night. each day he got thinner, and he never told them more than he felt like he should. at one point, he started staying full time with mark, only leaving when mark's mom got home, and sometimes not even then. 

they only found the truth about jaemin's story some time later, when jeno jokingly called jaemin mark's roommate, and mark laughed, hugged jaemin and told him "yeah, he is, he makes this place less empty". jaemin had stared at him for a while before he started crying, putting all the cards on the table. what a day had it been. they all ended up crying, eating ice cream in mark's and jaemin's shared bed, making promises to each other about being friends forever. 

mark couldn't regret it, because it was true. without jaemin, his house wasn't really a home. 

a few months later, donghyuck moved to the house right next to mark's.

he was playing on the street with jeno and jaemin when the truck came. they only saw him that day. the boy had left the car with his face down, staring into the floor, long black hair falling over his eyes in an atempt to hide that they were both black. he didn't look around. just went straight inside his house and never left again.

for around two months, the boy's existence was only theorical in their lives. he didn't go to school, he also didn't walk around the streets, which jaemin would be able to tell. jaemin has walked around every single corner he could get to. during those two months, donghyuck was all they talked about.

they didn't know him back then so they got him wrong. but they worried about him. jaemin and jeno were sure he was getting beaten up at home. they didn't do anything, mostly because they couldn't, but that didn't mean they didn't want to.

one day things got too far. jeno and jaemin were spending the night, it was a saturday, and even over the loud volume of his tv they could hear the screams, uninteligible. they turned off the movie and went straight to the window, watching the movement In the neighboring house. there were more yelling, and the front door opened as the boy got kicked out. someone from inside threw something at him before closing the door again, leaving him out and trembling on the ground.

for a few seconds, they just stood there, not being able to breathe. they stared while donghyuck sat down and dusted off his knees. then jeno and jaemin looked at mark, the designated leader, and he nodded.

they were out on the street in the blink of an eye, leaving the door open behind them. they went to donghyuck and stopped, unsure as to how to deal with the situation.

jeno was the one to break the silence:

"hey", he said, "my dad beats me too."

donghyuck raised his eyes, looking at them through his hair, and smiled.

later, the four got together under the covers in mark's small couch, to watch an action movie, after jeno told them horrifying stories of what his dad has done, and jaemin took care of donghyuck's wounds, and mark made him something to eat. donghyuck came out to them then, agressive in his words, as if trying to prove himself worthy, as if that would make him believe he actually was. 

they were surprised but it was over soon, some questions were asked, and then that was it. donghyuck let his guard down, and if he shed some tears because it was the first time he didn't have to fight to be who he is, it was only for them to know.

after the movie ended, and mark was the only one awake, he tucked them in, noticing, sadly, that his little family of lost boys was growing. he remembers deciding then that, if he was supposed to be their leader, he would take care of them as such.

renjun and chenle were a surprise, mark would say.

the four of them had been tired of the same places. same diners, same arcades. jaemin had told them he knew of a cheap diner in one of the richer neighborhoods, so mark got his parents old bikes from the basement, and he and jeno drove the other two, that never learned how to ride a bicycle, there.

everything was fine until almost halfway there. they were passing by one of the expensive rich kids school when they saw it, a neighboring gang cornering two boys against the back wall of the school. the two boys still wore uniforms, they were clearly just leaving or getting to the institute. one of them was obviously older, and shielded the younger with his body, yelling something in mandarin to the delinquents.

normally, mark would've let it be. he wasn't one to meddle in the other neighborhood's kids businesses, since they were bigger and more violent, had more numbers. for some reason, mark and his boys had started being considered one of the gangs, and this particular gang's leader had a weird fear of them. mark didn't know why, given he and his boys barely counted as it was, but he also wasn't the type to look a gifted horse in the mouth. 

something in the way renjun protected chenle even though he obviously didn't know how to fight, and how chenle looked way too young to be picked on like this, made him stop.

mark looked at jeno, and jeno instantly knew what to do.

they both stopped and donghyuck guarded their bikes, while the other three got themselves in the middle of the fight.

"hey, douchbags, leave them alone!", mark yelled, pushing one of the boys that tried to touch the youngest.

jeno puffed his chest to look bigger, getting in between mark and a boy that tried to attack him from behind. jaemin punched another one that tried to get too close.

one of the boys from the other gang tried getting to donghyuck, but jeno was faster and pulled him back, making him trip and fall. 

it wasn't needed a lot more for the other gang to leave. at one point, it was like they noticed it was mark and his boys, and they shouldn't mess with them, so they just ran off. but not without making empty threats, that mark, jaemin and jeno reciprocated without meaning a word.

they ended up taking renjun and chenle to the diner with them, mark and jeno trying to balance them in each of their bikes. the boys were so grateful they paid for their burgers, and tried to give them money. no one accepted, of course. they hadn't just stopped renjun and chenle from being robbed just to end up taking their money themselves. the boys had a large quantity of it on them, though. it surprised everyone. 

mark remembers asking if renjun and chenle shouldn't warn their parents, since they would probably be worried. the boys just told them, nonchalantly with their mouth full, that their parents were travelling and they were home alone. had been for a while. they didn't know when their parents would be coming back, renjun and chenle hadn't spoken to them in more than a month.

they took the boys home afterward, and mark told them to take care of themselves, and to walk around with less money on them. they had agreed and thanked the four again, and a week later, they knocked on mark's door and asked him, both flustered, if they could be friends.

it didn't sound like a good idea, and mark knew. but as soon as chenle offered paying them for friendship, his heart felt heavy with guilt. they weren't bad kids, and they felt lonely, and mark got the feeling.

on movie night that friday, there were two more pillows on his couch.

jisung was by chance. 

he moved with his brother to the house right in front of mark's, that had been empty since mark remembers living there. nothing unusual happened that day to stick to his memory, neither had been there when the truck came with their stuff, and mark vaguely remembers his mom saying something about saying hi to the new neighbors, but she was busy, and mark was forgetful, and so for a month, he didn't even know there was anyone living there.

he was home alone on a saturday when the bell rang. he went to open the door, mumbling to himself, even if he knew he was supposed to help chenle with math, since renjun wouldn't be home to do that. mark opened the door expecting to see the kid, and that was exactly what he found. except this kid wasn't his.

the boy had looked at him, swallowed, and turned his face down to stare at the ground, asking in an almost unintelligible whisper:

"i'm sorry to bother, my name is jisung, i'm one of the new neighbors. my brother left in a hurry for work today and forgot to make food, and...", he raised his eyes, but kept his face down, voice turning even lower, "i'm hungry."

mark let his mouth fall open, surprised and unsure of what to do. should he get him inside? should he go to his house and make him food? mark had seen a lot, but jisung's situation hit too close to home. differently from jisung's brother, though, mark's mom had made sure he knew enough to live without her. and honestly, after everything, mark doubted his brother had forgotten anything, but he couldn't already be sure.

as he agreed to help jisung, the boy ended mark's dilemma for him, jumping on and thanking him as he took mark's hand in his own and dragged him to his house. mark only had enough time to close his door behind him, and send chenle a message to let himself in, in case mark still wasn't home when he got there.

jisung's house was identical to his own, and at the same time, completely different. mark's place looked like a seventeen years old house, which it was, since his mom was almost never around and it was mostly only him and jaemin. jisung's, on the other hand, looked like a home. 

even the kitchen looked well lived in, mark could definitely tell jisung's brother liked cooking. 

he looked through the drawers and cupboards like they were his, seeing a few ingredients he had never seen before. he felt guilty for a second, but it was over soon. jisung watched him, curious, when mark finally found a ramen cup. he got two eggs, a pans, a bowl, and called jisung closer.

"look, don't think i mind helping you, but if one day you need it and i'm not home, you should know something at least."

jisung nodded like it was the most interesting thing anyone had ever told him, and mark couldn't keep himself from smiling. he started telling jisung what to do, letting him do it himself so he could remember it. jisung looked like he liked learning, and twenty minutes and just a few burnt eggs later, jisung devoured his scrambled eggs and ramen that he himself had made.

mark sat in front of him to keep him company, smiling at jisung when he offered him some, shaking his head no. mark asked himself how long jisung had kept waiting before asking for help, and thanked mentally that it was his door jisung had knocked on. 

jisung finished eating, and mark washed the dishes as jisung told him about his classes, and that since he was new he didn't really have any friends, and that his brother was doing so much for him after their parents died that jisung felt like a burden, even if he knew he wasn't. mark knew there and then he would never not worry about jisung again.

"hey, if you wanna i can let you meet my friends", he said, "every friday they come sleep in my house and we watch movies, if you wanna and your brother lets you, i'd love to have you there. and if you need anything, my door is always open. if i'm not home, my roommate most likely is."

jisung beamed, and looked about to say something, when the door opened and a boy not a lot older than mark came in. red hair almost over his eyes, his roots showing, gasping and a little desperate.

"jisung, are you hungry? god, i'm so sorry, i forgot, i...", he interrupted himself as he saw mark, opening his mouth in surprise, "...oh?"

and with jisung, came taeyong.

taeyong wasn't and would never be one of mark's boys. taeyong was older, more responsible. he had seen his parents die, and at nineteen, became his younger brother's legal guardian. he gave everything up for a job that paid enough to let him take care of them both, and he did his best so jisung always had more than enough. 

if mark was the leader then taeyong was the parental figure they never had, taking care of each and every one of mark's boys, even mark himself, even though it was not his responsibility to do so. even if it wasn't what they wanted from him.

it wasn't what mark wanted from taeyong, at least.

but what mark wanted, taeyong couldn't give him.

"hi", mark mumbled, flustered, "i'm sorry, i'm your front door neighbor. jisung knocked and asked for help making food... uh... i tried teaching him, sorry we burned a few of your eggs."

"oh", taeyong repeated, nodding, seeming a little overwhelmed, "it's okay, theres no problem. thank you for taking care of jisung, i'm sorry for bothering you. is there anything i can do to thank you?"

mark shook his head.

"no, it's okay, not a bother at all."

after more awkward conversations, and jisung jumping at taeyong to ask him animately if he could go to mark's on friday, taeyong agreed, stunned. mark said goodbye and left, finally remembering chenle, that was probably tired of waiting for him.

the red from taeyong's hair didn't leave his head for the rest of the day.

and, that friday, they were finally seven. 

**Author's Note:**

> scream at me @jaemles on tumblr if you want :')


End file.
